Since A Very Long Time
by matanee
Summary: The story takes place after Damon killed Klaus, first of all, in the burial-ground. Then, in the Salvatore house, and then, in the Gilbert house. What does Elena feel after she realizes how much Damon has done for her...? And how does Damon feel...?


**I've never really written stories in English before, so it's the very first time I publish a fanfiction like this. However, I really enjoyed writing this one, and I tried to write the characters not to be OOC. I would really love to read your thoughts about it, so you'd make my day with reviews, guys. (:**  
**Enjoy.**

* * *

He was careful, not to pull her too close. Even though she embraced him so tight he barely could breathe, he didn't want to do the same. Stefan was looking at them from the distance, he could hear every single word or sigh, or even Damon's thoughts. It was a dangerous ground.

Elena knew why Damon didn't returned her gesture. Maybe it disturbed her, but what disturbed her even better, is that she didn't care. She didn't want to let him go, and she didn't care Stefan was even there. She felt eternal thankfulness, and she tried to put every feeling into that one embrace. The moment didn't seem to pass, it felt like it's going to last forever, but then, he gently pushed her away.

'It's over,' Damon said lightly, and Elena knew what did that mean. Not only Klaus is over, not only Elijah is gone, or the whole horror story is over. They _are_ over.

'It has to be.'

Elena didn't exactly know how did that sound. Was it a question or a statement, but it still hurt her. Like Damon stabbed her with a knife. Or ripped her heart out off her chest. It hurt like hell.

Damon didn't know what to say. He was numb and desperate. He didn't want to hear those four words; he knew he has to walk away. She was safe now, and Stefan was there for her more than anyone. Not more than Damon was, but he was there, and she loved him. But she didn't love Damon, so yes, he had to leave. In spite of knowing what he should do, he didn't move. And he wasn't able to.

'You're gonna be alright,' he told finally, and he could clearly hear out the trembling in his voice.

_No, I'm not._

Elena knew she has to resist the urge to shout and scream things like that to Damon. She didn't want to be selfish, she never was that type. Not with Stefan, and now, not with Damon. Maybe she had doubts about her love for Stefan, but she knew it doesn't allow her to run into Damon's arms. Both of the brothers were there for her, and she was in this uncomfortable state, when someone is not able to choose between things. Between feelings, between fates.

There was the constant silence between them, and as she locked eyes with Damon, her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were blazing, and even it was dark around them, the blue eyes were brighter than the Moon's light. She felt irresistable desire to touch him again, to feel his skin, but she couldn't do anything but staring at him.

And then, a smile appeared on Damon's face, and that shocked Elena.

'Never look at Stefan like this,' Damon said softly. 'He will be scared.'

Elena blinked, then she quickly tore her glance from Damon, and spotted an irrelevant point on the ground. She started being nervous, and when she looked up at Damon again, he was walking away in the direction of Stefan. She felt disappointed, but she couldn't blame him. He told her it was over. She just had to accept it.

But with tears in her eyes, she knew she would never be able to accept this. Never.

* * *

Days had passed, weeks, and then, a month. Then two months, three months, and nothing changed. Damon wanted to leave, but he never could. He was waiting for the sign, a sign which makes him realize he _has_ to leave. And he knew this sign was Elena, but he simply avoided her for months, however, he felt like he was choking. Oxygen made him choke when he knew Elena was in the house, and he wasn't allowed to see her.

'You can't do this forever,' Stefan said lightly from the doorstep of Damon's room as the older Salvatore was lying on his bed, reading 'Pride and Prejudice'.

'Oh, you should be sure I can,' Damon said, shrugging. 'Who will trust me if it's not you anyway?'

'It's not about trust and you know it,' Stefan answered with endless patience in his voice, and he walked inside the room. 'You can't kill love. It's not that simple.'

'I don't know what are you talking about.'

'I'm talking about you and Elena, Damon,' Stefan said silently. Damon looked up from the book with a smirk, and he was looking at his younger brother with a big question mark on his face.

'What about Elena and me?'

'You love her.'

'Incorrect. I _used to _love her. She's with you. End of the story.'

'Oh please, Damon, don't try to feed me with this, 'kay?' Stefan's face was bored, and he was looking at Damon with an expression that amused Damon somewhere deep inside of him.

'You should be happy instead of convincing me about my feelings.'

'She's not happy with me anymore, so I can't pretend like everything is okay,' Stefan explained, and although he tried to hide it, but Damon was a bit surprised.

'Maybe she has her period. It happens, you know, in every month.'

'Yeah, for three months? There might be a problem then.'

_Gosh. She needs to be happy with him._

Damon was truly confused now. His common sense told him Stefan only imagines these things, and there's nothing serious, but his heart is almost started to beat again because of the idea of talking to her after a long, long time. Talking to her about Stefan, of course. They weren't stupid, and they both knew there was something between them, but it would have been too easy to switch between the brothers. Damon believed he didn't deserve her, and Elena tried to tell it to herself. But you can't fool your heart, and if you feel something… As Stefan said, you can't kill it.

'I will talk to her,' Damon offered, and he shrugged again, when he started to read the book. 'We'll see what can I do for you.'

'No, Damon,' Stefan said, and Damon looked up at him again. 'You won't talk to her about me. You will talk to her about you. You two have to discuss a lot of things.'

'I don't understand you, Stefan,' Damon said, and closed the book, put it on the bed. 'Why would you want to see her with me?'

'Because I want her to be happy. You saved her from Elijah for several times, and last time, you saved her life when Klaus was about to sacrifice her. You didn't care you could die, you would have been happy to die instead of her.'

'Don't be stupid, you saved her…'

'No. I was standing there, tried to help you, but you made it easily alone,' Stefan said. 'You were the one who saved her life from time to time, and of course she fell for you. I supposed to be the one who should have been there for her, but it was you. And now, don't come with your crap about you don't deserve her. You didn't deserve her, but now, I would kill myself if I had to stay with her and watch you reading with that abandoned expression on your face.'

It was too much from Stefan for once, so Damon had to stop for a second and process everything he said.

'I don't have an abandoned expression on my face,' Damon said, and Stefan just smiled widely, almost-laughing.

'Now, of course you don't.'

* * *

'Okay, then… Let's see… Okay. Dates of death, are you ready?' Caroline asked with a light smile on her face, then Elena swallowed hard, and nodded.

'I'm ready.'

'Abraham Lincoln?'

'1865.'

'John F. Kennedy?'

'1963.'

'George Washington?'

Elena paused, and she felt the rising tension in her head. So many dates, and so short time until the test…

'177…'

Caroline shook her head, then Elena tried to think about it harder. Damned presidents…

'1799?'

'Excellent!' Caroline started clapping with a wide smile, and Elena just sighed, and she was waiting for the next question.

'Ronald Reagan?'

'2004.'

'And the last… Hmm, Andrew Johnson?'

Bummer. Elena's already known it was the missing puzzle piece in her brain, and she started being desperate, when a low, deep voice sounded from right behind her.

'The 17th President of the United States. He died in 1875.'

First, the voice scared her, and then, she realized whose voice it was, and she felt like her heart wanted to jump out of her chest. She quickly turned around, and when she saw Damon standing right behind her, she couldn't help and let a relieved smile appear on her face.

'Damon,' Elena whispered, and she just noticed how different he looked like. His eyes were sparkling when they locked eyes, and he seemed much taller than anytime before. He approached them slowly, then he stopped right in front of the bed, where Caroline and Elena were sitting, with books and papers around them everywhere.

'What are you doing here?' Elena asked silently, but she couldn't see anything on Damon's face. He seemed calm, not like when they met last. When she hugged him, and when he told her it's over, that she's going to be alright. She wasn't alright at all. But she tried to hide it from Stefan, from her friends, and now, especially from Damon. She didn't want to seem weak or vulnerable. Not for him.

'We need to talk,' Damon answered lightly, and Elena's heartbeat was getting faster and faster.

_Why is he doing this? Is it good for him?_

'I think you could use a coffee before we continue,' Caroline said, and when Elena heard her voice, she felt like she has woken up from a dream. She quickly gave a smile to Caroline as she was walking out of the room, and when she closed the door, Elena felt like a sheep with the big, bad wolf.

'So...' Elena said, and she wasn't able to look at Damon. She wanted to look at anything else, but not Damon. His ice cold, blazing eyes… They would have killed her on the spot.

'How are things going with Stefan?' Damon asked lightly, and sat down on the bed next to Elena. She shrugged.

'We're fine.'

_Oh, what a liar you are, Elena._

Although none of them said it out loudly, but they were thinking the same. Elena had known well, that her relationship with Stefan was sealed, and it was pointless to be together in the last three months. But it made her sad, that she couldn't do anything. She could have break up with him, but she didn't know which would have been worse. Being together, when it's more than useless, or break up and suffer from loneliness. They had feelings for each other deep inside of them, but it wasn't real anymore. It felt like good acting, nothing more.

'Stefan told me you're not happy anymore,' Damon said, and he stopped searching for Elena's glance. He was just staring in front of him.

'How would he know that?' Elena asked silently, and now she was the one, who looked into Damon's eyes with a surprised expression.

'It's written on your face.'

When their glance met, they both felt the sweet, old chemistry between them. The air got hotter in a second, and he barely could resist the urge to touch her hand. She was so close, he could feel the smell of her hair. He could _hear_ her heartbeat… And it was so fast it was almost impossible.

'I…' Elena started, but her voice was trembling so much she needed a second before she could continue. 'I didn't want you to leave. When we killed Klaus… When _you _killed him… I just wanted to say thank you but you left and…'

'Shut up already,' Damon interrupted, and Elena looked at him, suprised. 'Just tell me what do you feel now, and I'll know what to do. Tell me.'

Elena swallowed hard, and she didn't have any doubt about what he wanted to hear from her. She knew that too well. But she wasn't able to say those words to Damon… yet.

'I don't know what I feel,' Elena started, and she felt so much tension within her that she could explode any time. 'But I know I missed you way too much. Like I've never missed anyone before.'

Damon couldn't say a thing. To say they felt the same would have been an understatement. They felt _exactly_ the same, _more_, than the same. Although, they didn't even know it about each other.

Elena felt she was missing something. Her other half, a piece from her heart, and she never felt really safe in the last three months. And Damon? He felt useless. Like he doesn't have a fate or a goal to reach. Without Elena, he was a living puppet. And now, that they were sitting in front of each other, they felt the peace they've missed so far.

'What are we going to do?' Elena asked silently, and tried to find an answer in Damon's eyes, but she saw only a glad sparkle in his eyes.

'You'll drink your coffee, and learn the dates. And then… We have a lifetime to figure out things. I don't think it will last too long,' Damon answered, and this reply calmed down Elena a bit. It would have been strange to hear something else from Damon's mouth.

And this answer made her smile with satisfaction, first since a very long time.


End file.
